Tamoxifen Question - Cancer: Breast Message Board

tinamarie0914 · 03-14-2009, 09:15 AM

I have a question for anyone out there taking Tamoxifen. I started taking it last November and did not have a period in December, January or February. This week I had what seemed like a period for two days. I was of the understanding that Tamoxifen would bring on menopause causing my periods to stop so I was quite surprised when this happened. Can anyone tell me if this is normal? Do women typically have periods while taking this drug or is it more common not to have them?

Thank you for your help!!

Tina

mimi1824 · 03-16-2009, 05:53 AM

Hi Tina,

I've been on Tamoxifen since May 2007 and haven't had a period since. I assumed the chemo stopped it not the pill because after my 2nd chemo treatment, they stopped. I would talk to your oncologist about this issue. Myself, I love not having my time of the month, i'm almost 47 years old so i've had them for a while now. I was 11 when I started them. Also, I do have night sweats and most days, hot flashes, but i'd rather get that then periods.
take care

michele33 · 03-21-2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mimi1824

Hi Tina,

I've been on Tamoxifen since May 2007 and haven't had a period since. I assumed the chemo stopped it not the pill because after my 2nd chemo treatment, they stopped. I would talk to your oncologist about this issue. Myself, I love not having my time of the month, i'm almost 47 years old so i've had them for a while now. I was 11 when I started them. Also, I do have night sweats and most days, hot flashes, but i'd rather get that then periods.
take care

Are you haveing difficulty losing weight ? Between chemo and taximofen I can lose weight and I am dieting and exercising. I am 48 and have lost my period from chemo.

tinamarie0914 · 03-21-2009, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michele33

Are you haveing difficulty losing weight ? Between chemo and taximofen I can lose weight and I am dieting and exercising. I am 48 and have lost my period from chemo.

I am actually taking the Tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer as I am at a very high risk. I lost a little weight before I started taking it, but lost even more after I started it. I've read that a side effect is weight gain and recently I have gained a few pounds back. But...a little weight gain is better than that awful disease! I asked my gynecologist about the periods stopping and she said Tamoxifen should not cause them to stop so now I'm heading down the uterine biopsy road. Don't worry about the weight gain - if you're eating right and exercising then you know you're doing everything you can and staying cancer free is the most important thing!

shisslak · 03-23-2009, 12:27 PM

TinaMarie

Tamoxafin in fact DOES cause your periods to stop. The idea behind Tamoxafin is to stop the estogen from being produced. The side effect with Tamoxafin is when you start to bleed while on the medication. That is when they should do an ultasound to check your uterine lining and also do the endometrial biopsy. Tamoxafin can cause endometrial ca.
I took tamoxafin for 9 months because I had a mass removed that was pre-cancerous and was estrogen receptor positive. I was taken off of tamoxafin when I began to experience some pretty serious and rare side effects.

I now only have yearly mammograms and Breast MRI's to monitor my breast health.